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Friday, 1 January 2016

We all are fully aware of
how the business in the Kingdom runs. Saudi Arabia is one of the richest and
fully developed countries of the world because it knows well how to cover their
flaws. They might not have the labor that can help build their economy, but it
sure knows how to use cheap labor from different underdeveloped and developing
countries from around the world and get their work done easily. This not only
benefits these expats, but also helps employers establish their small
businesses and contribute to the ever growing and flourishing economy of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since the Kingdom currently holds nearly 8 million
expats, one can easily wonder whether getting a Visa for Saudi Arabia is that
easy.

In order to get a work
permit and a visa for the Kingdom all one needs is a sponsor who calls in the
expat from countries like the Philippines, India and Indonesia. This sponsor
will take permission from the Ministry of Labor providing all the documents of
the expat and give them assurance that the man or woman coming in will serve in
their company and abide by all the Saudi Labor Laws (SLL) set by the
government. Perhaps this wasn’t enough for most sponsors since they ran a
little out of their league and offered the expats what we call “free visas”
which is illegal under the Ministry of Labor (MOL). The Ministry has renewed
and amended the original Saudi Labor Law and brought in the light of the
employers that if they are found in contempt or violation of any of the laws,
they will bear consequences and extreme fines.

According to the amended
laws, the sponsors who hold documents or visas of the employee will be charged
SR 2,000.

Apart from that, if they
do not hand their employee a copy of their employment agreement, they will be
charged SR 5,000.

Employees have been given
a lot of importance under the amended laws which include a fine of SR 15,000
for forcing employees for work that isn’t a part of their agreement

A fine of SR 25,000 for
violating safety and health hazards

A fine of SR 50,000 for
selling visas to expatriates

Employers will face
charges if they try to forge the identity of their employee as a Saudi and
would be charged a fine of SR 25,000 for every employee.

All those sponsors who are
found violating either one, or some of the amended laws displayed in the Saudi
Labor Law, will be blacklisted in Saudi Arabia and that would not only disrupt
their business, but can cause them to be put in prison. If they continue this
malpractice, they would have to bear consequences and there is no need to
elaborate on how strict the action is upheld against all those who try to break
the laws. The Ministry of Labor has
outdone them and tried to protect the expat workforce within the Kingdom and
also kept the economy of safe.